Ingrid Hansen Wood

Ingrid Hansen was born in Ridgewood, New Jersey, on October 13, 1940. Four years later her family moved to Greenwich, Connecticut, later settling in Delray Beach, Florida. She attended high school at the Bartram School for Girls in Jacksonville, Florida.

Ingrid graduated from Wellesley College with a geology major in 1962. Following graduation, she worked for the US Geological Survey for four years, then pursued additional study in geology at Brown University and geography at Clark University. She never lost her love of geology and bequeathed her geode collection to her grandchildren, Augusta, Isabella, and William.

She married Denis Wood in 1969 and spent a year in Puerto Rico teaching English at the Barranquitas Campus of Inter American University.

In 1974, she and Denis moved to Raleigh and bought a home in Boylan Heights, where they raised their two sons, Randall and Chandler.

Ingrid was a Raleigh community leader. She and her family led the way in the revitalization of Boylan Heights. For many years, she ran the Parent Teacher Resource Center at Project Enlightenment. Devoted to public transportation, she was a longstanding member of the Raleigh Transit Authority Board, and the only member who actually rode the bus. She volunteered for a number of organizations and institutions, including WakeMed, Wiley Elementary School and Transitions LifeCare (formerly Hospice of Wake County).

One of her great joys was spending time with her Hillsborough Street YMCA coffee group.

She loved Raleigh and all its amenities and once donated a large industrial fan to Humble Pie Restaurant because the kitchen was too hot for the cooks. She was that kind of person.

Ingrid lived a life of adventure and what she called treasure hunting. Every Saturday morning for thirty-two years, following her initial cancer diagnosis, she and her good friend, Carrie Knowles, would head out for breakfast and shopping, stopping wherever they wanted for yard sales or art shows, or taking a winding drive in spring to look at flowers and, in fall, the brilliant changing colors.

She loved flowers. Loved to read. Be with people. Think about great possibilities. She hunted all year round for just the right presents to give to her family and friends and spent hours wrapping them in bits of ribbon and lace.

She had a great laugh. Her grandchildren think she was magical, as do her friends. She was deeply loved and will be missed by many.

The family would like to thank Dr. William Berry and his staff for the excellent and loving care they gave Ingrid for more than thirty years.

She is survived by Denis, her ex-husband; her two sons, Randall and his wife Chrysta and Chandler and his wife Nell; her three grandchildren, Augusta, Isabella and William; her brother, John Hansen, and his two children, John Jr. and Paige; and an enormous family of friends. She was strongly attached to many people.

When it is safe to be together again, friends and family will gather to celebrate Ingrid’s life.

In lieu of flowers, please:

1) Go on an adventure this Saturday with a friend; or

2) Make a donation to Transitions LifeCare at transitionslifecare.org.

Arrangements by Brown-Wynne Funeral Home & Crematory, 300 Saint Mary's St. Raleigh, NC.